Wednesday, September 02, 2015

Kanonkop and Rijk’s make history with 10th Absa Top 10 Award win apiece

We were not able to attend this function because
it was held at the same time as the Top 10 Chenin, and we had already accepted
our Chenin invitation when the Pinotage invitation arrived. We do wish that all
the PR people would consult each other so that there would be fewer clashes
like this. Kanonkop and Rijk’s Cellars from Tulbagh made history by becoming
the first producers to notch up ten Absa Top 10 Pinotage Awards each.

At this year’s awards
function, held at the KWV in Paarl on 28 August, the Kanonkop Pinotage 2012 and
Rijk’s Reserve Pinotage 2011 won two of the Absa Top 10 trophies handed to the
winning wines in the 2015 competition. The 10 winners topped a total of 154
wines that were entered into this year’s competition.

The Absa Top 10 Pinotage
Awards is one of South Africa’s premier wine industry contests. This year’s
competition marks the 19th consecutive year of collaboration between
Absa Bank Ltd (Absa), member of Barclays Africa Group Ltd (Barclays Africa),
and the SA Pinotage Association in recognising wineries from throughout South
Africa for their interpretation of the country’s famous indigenous grape
variety.

The wine regions of
Stellenbosch, Paarl and Durbanville each delivered two of this year’s Absa Top
10 winners. Neethlingshof joined Kanonkop in flying the Stellenbosch flag with
its Estate Pinotage 2014. Altydgedacht Pinotage 2013 and Diemersdal Pinotage
Reserve 2014 saw Durbanville staking a spot as a potent Pinotage region, while
Paarl producers Windmeul and first-time winner Ayama won Absa Top 10 trophies
for the Windmeul Pinotage Reserve 2014 and Ayama Pinotage 2013 respectively.

Groot Constantia, South
Africa’s oldest wine farm, showed it can still produce the goods with a Top 10
for the Groot Constantia Pinotage 2013. Worcester-based Overhex Wines
International’s Survivor Pinotage 2014 secured a trophy in its first Absa Top
10 outing, while Flagstone’s Writer’s Block Pinotage 2013 had the last word in
this year’s event.

Beyers Truter, chairman of
the Pinotage Association, said that two features stood out from this year’s
competition: the milestones reached by Kanonkop and Rijk’s and the performance
of wines made from the 2014 vintage.

“When the Pinotage Association founded the
Absa Top 10 Competition in 1997, we had a vision of not only honouring Pinotage
wines but also to create legends,” said Truter. “By winning Top 10 awards ten
times, Kanonkop and Rijk’s have now undoubtedly established themselves not only
as legendary producers of Pinotage, but icons in the South African wine
industry, too.

“As a producer myself I
know how high the demands of the judging panel are, and to show the kind of
consistency as Kanonkop and Rijk’s have done throughout the years is an affirmation
of the winemaker's understanding of his terroir, the unique traits of the
Pinotage grape and tremendous winemaking skill.”

Commenting on the four
trophy winners produced from the 2014 vintage, Truter said that it was
remarkable to see wines scarcely 18 months old standing on the winners’ podium.

“The vintage was late and
cool, with a very wet pre-season and produced a relatively light crop,” he
said. “But now we have four wines barely out of their nappies showing the
quality and refined elegance to take Top 10 trophies, showing us how
exceptional last year’s vintage actually was. Consumers can definitely tick off
2014 as a must-have year for red wine.”

Craig Bond, Chief Executive
of Retail and Business Banking at Barclays Africa says: “I would like to
congratulate all the participants and winners in this year’s Pinotage Top 10
competition, especially Kanonkop and Rijk’s Cellars for re-writing the history
books. We wish all the finalists great success on their winemaking
journey hope they continue to prosper.

“At Absa and Barclays Africa we are proud of
our partnership with the Pinotage Association, now in its 19th
consecutive year, as we continue to promote uniquely South African wines made
from Pinotage grapes. Our continued involvement with and support of this
competition is driven by our confidence in the new generation of South African
winemakers – these winemakers are working hard to increase the prestige and
sophistication of wines produced in South Africa.”

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MENU,our weekly email newsletter, started as an advertising medium for Main Ingredient, our specialist retail grocery business. We opened our Sea Point shop in December 2002 because the limited range of food products available in the supermarkets frustrated us. We realised that there was a place in South Africa for a grocer catering to people who share our tastes and needs. We moved the shop on line in 2010, but have now discontinued it, having decided that it is time to “retire” and concentrate on our writing, photography and tour guiding. MENU has a wide circulation and is read nationally and internationally.

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